Milton Friedman, the rightwing economist who has been described as the high priest of the free market, co-writes an essay which calls for charging road users an amount "in proportion to their use" of the highway.

1988

Friedman chances upon his essay, entitled How to Plan and Pay for the Safe and Adequate Highways We Need, and a few years later it is published.

Friedman's ideas resurface in a debate in the Commons about London's perennial transport problems. Labour MP Ken Livingstone, who had just announced he wanted to run to be the city's mayor, said a congestion charge "would not be my tax of first choice" but conceded something like it must be introduced.

July 2001

Now the mayor of London, Mr Livingstone formally unveils his plans for a congestion charge in the capital, crediting Friedman with the idea's origins.

October 2002

Britain's first congestion charge zone begins in Durham in a tourism-related scheme. Motorists wanting to park at the top of the hill near the cathedral have to pay £5. A £2 charge is also enforced for driving on Saddler Street, which leads to the cathedral. The aim is to reduce the 3,000 cars that drove on the road daily beforehand. The scheme has reportedly cut traffic by 90%. Derbyshire council is planning a similar scheme.

Bristol has more complex plans using an electronic vehicle-tagging system that would charge drivers £5 for crossing a city centre cordon. But, in contrast to London, a light railway linking large residential areas to the centre is promised before tolling begins, possibly in 2006

Monday 17 February 2003

Congestion charging starts in central London, with motorists having to pay £5 for travelling in the designated zone or face fines. Trials for a similar scheme are planned for Leeds.